Policy-driven storage in a microserver computing environment

ABSTRACT

An example method for facilitating policy-driven storage in a microserver computing environment is provided and includes receiving, at an input/output (I/O) adapter in a microserver chassis having a plurality of compute nodes and a shared storage resource, policy contexts prescribing storage access parameters of respective compute nodes and enforcing the respective policy contexts on I/O operations by the compute nodes, in which respect a particular I/O operation by any compute node is not executed if the respective policy context does not allow the particular I/O operation. The method further includes allocating tokens to command descriptors associated with I/O operations for accessing the shared storage resource, identifying a violation of any policy context of any compute node based on availability of the tokens, and throttling I/O operations by other compute nodes until the violation disappears.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The instant application is a continuation of, and claims priority to,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/869,256 filed on Jan. 12, 2018,entitled “POLICY-DRIVEN STORAGE IN A MICROSERVER COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT,”which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/965,750filed on Dec. 10, 2015, entitled “POLICY-DRIVEN STORAGE IN A MICROSERVERCOMPUTING ENVIRONMENT,” the contents of which are expressly incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates in general to the field of communications and,more particularly, to policy-driven storage in a microserver computingenvironment.

BACKGROUND

Microservers are an emerging trend of servers for processinglightweight, scale out workloads for hyper-scale data centers with largenumbers of relatively lightweight server nodes. The microserverrepresents a new server architecture characterized by many (e.g., tensor even hundreds) lightweight server nodes bundled together in a sharedchassis infrastructure, for example, sharing power, cooling fans, andinput/output components, eliminating space and power consumption demandsof duplicate infrastructure components. The microserver topologyfacilitates density, lower power per node, reduced costs, and increasedoperational efficiency. Microservers are generally based on smallform-factor, system-on-a-chip (SoC) boards, which pack processingcapability, memory, and system input/output onto a single integratedcircuit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To provide a more complete understanding of the present disclosure andfeatures and advantages thereof, reference is made to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, whereinlike reference numerals represent like parts, in which:

FIG. 1A is a simplified block diagram illustrating a communicationsystem for policy-driven storage in a microserver computing environment;

FIG. 1B is a simplified block diagram illustrating example details of anembodiment of the communication system;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustrating other example detailsof embodiments of the communication system;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram illustrating yet other exampledetails of embodiments of the communication system;

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram illustrating yet other exampledetails of embodiments of the communication system;

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram illustrating yet other exampledetails of embodiments of the communication system;

FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram illustrating yet other exampledetails of embodiments of the communication system;

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram illustrating yet other exampledetails of embodiments of the communication system;

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram illustrating yet other exampledetails of embodiments of the communication system;

FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram illustrating yet other exampledetails of embodiments of the communication system;

FIG. 10 is a simplified block diagram illustrating yet other exampledetails of embodiments of the communication system;

FIG. 11 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating example operationsthat may be associated with an embodiment of the communication system;

FIG. 12 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating other exampleoperations that may be associated with an embodiment of thecommunication system;

FIG. 13 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating yet other exampleoperations that may be associated with an embodiment of thecommunication system;

FIG. 14 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating yet other exampleoperations that may be associated with an embodiment of thecommunication system;

FIG. 15 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating yet other exampleoperations that may be associated with an embodiment of thecommunication system; and

FIG. 16 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating yet other exampleoperations that may be associated with an embodiment of thecommunication system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS Overview

An example method for facilitating policy-driven storage in amicroserver computing environment is provided and includes receiving, atan input/output (I/O) adapter in a microserver chassis having aplurality of compute nodes and a shared storage resource, policycontexts prescribing (e.g., indicating, specifying, comprising,designating, etc.) storage access parameters of respective compute nodesand enforcing the respective policy contexts on I/O operations by thecompute nodes, in which respect a particular I/O operation by anycompute node is not executed if the respective policy context does notallow the particular I/O operation. The method further includesallocating (e.g., distributing, assigning, issuing, dispensing, etc.)tokens to command descriptors associated with I/O operations foraccessing the shared storage resource, identifying a violation of anypolicy context of any compute node based on availability of the tokens,and throttling (e.g., regulating, decreasing, controlling, adjusting,choking, curbing, reducing, etc.) I/O operations by other compute nodesuntil the violation disappears.

As used herein, the term “policy context” of a compute node refers to asoftware object (e.g., structure) containing information (e.g., valuesof one or more relevant variables) related to one or more policies(e.g., conditions, rules, parameters, restrictions, constraints, etc.)to be applied on the compute node. As used herein, the term “computenode” refers to a hardware processing apparatus, in which userapplications (e.g., software programs) are executed.

EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Turning to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram illustrating acommunication system 10 for policy-driven storage in a microservercomputing environment in accordance with one example embodiment.Communication system 10 includes a microserver chassis 12 comprising aplurality of compute nodes 14 sharing access to network and storageresources through a common input/output (I/O) adapter 16 (also called asVirtual Interface Card (VIC)). Note that the label “14” may refer to asingle compute node, or it may refer to a plurality of compute nodes.Because the compute nodes are interchangeable in the sense that thedescription provided herein applies to all of them equally, irrespectiveof their particular computing, processing, and physical characteristics,using the label in the singular or plural is not intended to affect themeaning or scope of the embodiments.

I/O adapter 16 services (e.g., processes) both network and storageaccess requests from compute nodes 14 within microserver 12. In variousembodiments, compute nodes 14 may access a shared storage resource 18through I/O adapter 16 according to policy contexts 20 over a sharedtransmission medium, such as a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express(PCIe) bus. Each compute node 14 is associated with a correspondingpolicy context 20. Policy context 20 prescribe storage access parameters(e.g., input/output operations per second, minimum bandwidth, maximumbandwidth, etc.) of respective compute nodes 14.

Note that the label “20” may refer to a single policy context, or it mayrefer to a plurality of policy contexts without changing the scope ofthe embodiments. For example, policy context 20 may comprise a singlesoftware object comprising storage access parameters of substantiallyall compute nodes 14 in microserver chassis; in another example, policycontext 20 may comprise a plurality of software objects, each suchsoftware object comprising storage access parameters of a correspondingone of compute nodes 14, and each such software object being referred toas a separate policy context. Irrespective of whether the label is usedin the singular or plural, any policy context 20 comprises storageaccess parameters of one or more compute nodes 14 within the broad scopeof the embodiments.

One or more switch(es) 22 outside microserver chassis 12 may providenetwork connectivity to a network external to microserver chassis 12. Amanagement application, such as a Cisco® Unified Computing System™ (UCS)manager executing on (or through) switch 22 configures network endpoints(e.g., a network endpoint refers to a logical endpoint of networktraffic corresponding to a specific network protocol layer) and storageendpoints (e.g., a storage endpoint refers to a logical endpoint forstorage traffic) for each compute node 14 with user-defined attributesand capabilities. The UCS manager also provisions storage resource 18(e.g., storage disks, memory space, boot space, logical unit numbers(LUNs), etc.) for each compute node 14 with suitable capacity andreliability characteristics (e.g., array of independent disks (RAID)level) according to user-provided instructions. An appropriate softwareexecuting on I/O adapter 16 creates suitable PCI endpoints on computenodes 14, for example, associated with the respective network endpointsand storage endpoints. Respective host drivers managing the networkendpoints and storage endpoints in corresponding compute nodes 14 pluginto the appropriate network and storage stacks.

Some embodiments of communication system 10 facilitate network centricdata center management with the network endpoints and storage endpointsbeing capable of being configured through centralized policy enforcementaccording to user-defined attributes and capabilities. Whereas thenetwork endpoints have a peer representation on upstream switch 22 wherepolicies can be enforced, storage resource 18 is local to microserver 12and the storage endpoints exist solely in the domain within microserverchassis 12. In other words, the storage endpoints are inaccessible toswitch 22 (e.g., storage traffic is local to microserver chassis 12 anddoes not traverse switch 22), and thus policy contexts 20 cannot beenforced at switch 22.

Compute nodes 14 may be of varying processing capacities and PCIebandwidths. For example, in some embodiments, compute nodes 14 maycomprise application specific servers, wherein the respective centralprocessing units (CPUs) and storage resource 18 are custom-built for theapplications executing thereon, with one of compute nodes 14 using a 2GHz CPU and 512 MB of memory, another of compute nodes 14 using a 1 GHzCPU and 256 MB of memory, and so on. In another example, some workloadsmay require guaranteed bandwidth; some other workloads may requirebandwidth to be restricted according to predefined parameters (e.g.,network utilization, storage throughput, I/Os per second (IOPS), storagebandwidth utilization); etc. According to various embodiments, adatacenter administrator can configure compute nodes 14 for variousdifferent workloads having different network and storage bandwidthsthrough the UCS manager executing on switch 22. At least a portion ofthe configuration pertaining to accessing storage resource 18 may bestored locally in microserver chassis 12 as policy contexts 20 andenforced by I/O adapter 16.

In various embodiments, I/O adapter 16 may also facilitate collection ofstatistics on host network adapters and export them to UCS manager. Theadministrator can view per network interface statistics on a suitablegraphical user interface (GUI) of UCS manager. In various embodiments,configuration of the various network endpoints and storage endpoints maybe enforced through appropriate policies, which can change dynamicallyas desired by the administrator. VIC protocol control messages may beexchanged between microserver chassis 12 and switch 22 to apply thepolicies immediately (e.g., contemporaneously, simultaneously, within apredetermined time period, etc.). Thus, UCS manager provides a unifiedview of the data center and makes it easy for the administrator toadminister any configuration change from a single control point.

For purposes of illustrating the techniques of communication system 10,it is important to understand the communications that may be traversingthe system shown in FIG. 1. The following foundational information maybe viewed as a basis from which the present disclosure may be properlyexplained. Such information is offered earnestly for purposes ofexplanation only and, accordingly, should not be construed in any way tolimit the broad scope of the present disclosure and its potentialapplications.

Turning to memory retrieval operations, direct memory access (DMA) is anability of a device (such as a compute node) to access local host memorydirectly, without the intervention of any central processing units(CPUs). Remote DMA (RDMA) is the ability of accessing (e.g., readingfrom or writing to) memory on a remote machine without interrupting theprocessing of the CPU(s) on the remote machine. Although compute nodes14 are local within microserver chassis 12, they are remote relative toeach other's compute and memory resources, and therefore RDMA can beused for data transfers between compute nodes 14 with minimal processoroverhead and low latency.

RDMA communication is based on a set of three queues: (i) a send queueand (ii) a receive queue, comprising a Queue Pair (QP) and (iii) aCompletion Queue (CQ). Posts in the QP are used to initiate the sendingor receiving of data. An application (e.g., through a host driver)places instructions on its work queues that generate buffers in I/Oadapter 16 to send or receive data. I/O adapter 16 consumes theinstructions from the send queue at the egress side and streams the datato its memory region corresponding to the remote system. The memoryregion consumes the work queues at the receive queue at the ingress sideand places the received data in appropriate memory regions of the host.

In a general sense, the RDMA traffic between compute nodes 14 inmicroserver chassis 12 does not leave the PCIe domain (e.g., sharedtransmission medium within microserver chassis 12 through which data iscommunicated according to PCIe protocols) and enter the Ethernet domain(e.g., Ethernet network outside microserver chassis 12 through whichdata is communicated according to Ethernet protocols). In other words,the RDMA traffic is local to microserver chassis 12 and does nottraverse switch 22. On the other hand, network traffic from and tocompute nodes 14 traverse switch 22. Therefore, unlike enforcement ofnetwork traffic related policies (of administrator provided instructionsat UCS manager), enforcement of storage traffic related policies cannotbe performed at switch 22.

Moreover, in such shared infrastructure deployments, in which sharedstorage resource 18 is fixed and limited in size, there is a potentialfor one compute node 14 to starve other compute nodes 14 by overutilizing shared storage resource 18. Thus, applications running oncompute nodes 14 experience uneven storage performance despitecorresponding compute nodes 14 having identical processing power andPCIe bandwidth.

In addition, because the storage interfaces of compute nodes 14 directlycommunicate with shared storage resource 18 through I/O adapter 16,bypassing switch 22, the I/O statistics are not accessible to thecentral UCS manager executing in switch 22. The administrator has torely on statistics collected by storage stacks on each disparate computenode 14 for the I/O statistics. Any sort of storage traffic shaping hasto be executed on respective compute nodes 14 and cannot be dynamicallychanged without manual intervention. In large data centers with hundredsand thousands of compute nodes 14 on separate microserver chassis, suchmanual adjustment of policies for each of compute nodes 14 may not bepractical.

Further, because each compute node 14 has access only to its localstorage traffic, any global analysis of the I/O statistics (e.g., suchas shared load on the shared resources) cannot be facilitated byper-compute node policies enforced separately on each compute node 14.The operating system of each compute node 14 does not have a global viewof storage traffic originating from all compute nodes to a sharedstorage infrastructure. Thus, while the operating system can offer waysto limit the bandwidth for the corresponding compute node 14, it cannotenforce policies guaranteeing a minimum bandwidth or throughput. Such ahighly rigid manual approach can defeat centralized management of thedata center.

As compute nodes 14 don different roles in the clustered multi-hostenvironment, they run different applications and workloads, withcorresponding differing requirements for network and storage bandwidth.Some applications also mandate certain minimum network and storagebandwidth at any given time for optimal performance. Whereas network QoSmanagement has been well established and implemented across variousnetwork elements (e.g., OS stack, network adapter, switches, routers,etc.) in the network, technologies and solutions to manage storage QoShave been lagging. Storage area network (SAN) storage vendors haveattempted to implement storage QoS on SAN switches and targets. However,the SAN solutions are not applicable for the microserver computingenvironment, in which every compute node 14 perceives storage as local,but share a common storage controller to access boot and data LUNs.

To provide storage QoS in such multi-host system, there is a need forsampling storage I/O commands across compute nodes 14 and arbitratingaccess to shared storage resource 18 based on administrator providedconfiguration. Moreover, there is a further need for the solution to bepolicy based, dynamic and centralized, working uniformly across all hostplatforms and operating systems, without separate agents executing oncompute nodes 14 to shape storage traffic.

Communication system 10 is configured to such issues (among others) byfacilitating policy-driven storage in a microserver computingenvironment. According to various embodiments, a human administratordefines QoS policies at switch 22 for storage adapters associated withcompute nodes 14. The QoS policies define various parameters, such asmaximum bandwidth allocated to a particular compute node 14, maximumnumber of IOPs allowed from a particular storage adapter, and/or minimumbandwidth to be guaranteed for a particular storage adapter. Thepolicies are dynamic, in the sense that they can be changed at any time,irrespective of the state of compute node 14. Any changes in storage QoSpolicies are communicated substantially immediately to I/O adapter 16through suitable VIC protocol control messages. The QoS policies arestored locally at I/O adapter 16 as policy context 20.

Turning to FIG. 1B, FIG. 1B is a simplified diagram illustrating variouscomponents facilitating operations of communication system 10 withinmicroserver chassis 12. Compute nodes 14 are referred in the figure as“A”, “B”, “C” and so on. Each compute node 14 is associated with aseparate Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) network interface card(sNIC) 24. sNICs 24 are referred in the figure as “sNIC0”, “sNIC1”,“sNIC2” and so on. Note that the label “24” may refer to a single sNIC,or it may refer to a plurality of sNICs without affecting the meaning orscope of the embodiments. In various embodiments, each sNIC 24 maycomprise a portion of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)with a unique PCIe physical function, such as enabling connectivity ofassociated compute node 14 to a portion of shared storage resource 18.

A System Link Technology™ executing in communication system 10 enablescreation of PCIe physical functions represented by sNICs 24. Any onesNIC 24 presents a PCIe storage endpoint comprising a virtual storagecontroller to the operating system of the respective compute node 14 andmaps storage resource 18 to a specific service profile within the UCSmanager (e.g., executing in or through upstream switch 22). For example,sNIC0 presents a virtual storage controller to the operating system ofcompute node A and maps storage resource 18 to a specific serviceprofile within the UCS manager associated with compute node A.Similarly, sNIC1 presents a virtual storage controller to the operatingsystem of compute node B and maps storage resource 18 to a specificservice profile within the UCS manager associated with compute node B;and so on.

I/O adapter 16 creates sNICs 24 based on administrator provided policiesat switch 22. sNICs 24 allow respective ones of compute nodes 14 to havetheir own specific virtual drive carved out of the available physicaldrives within microserver chassis 12. The communication between theoperating system to the drive is via standard SCSI commands. sNICs 24comprise PCIe endpoints claimed by SCSI host drivers of respectivecompute nodes 14. The UCS manager at switch 22 provisions storage onshared storage resource 18 and exports LUNs to compute nodes 14 viarespective sNICs 24.

A root complex 26 of the PCIe bus of microserver chassis 12 enablesconnectivity to a PLX switch (optional) and a storage controller 30,which connects to various shared storage devices (SSD) comprisingstorage resource 18. In various embodiments, shared storage controller30 comprises any off-the-shelf storage controller from any suitablevendor. The PLX switch is optional, and may be used to extend the numberof shared storage controllers that can be attached to the PCIe bus.Storage firmware 28 executing in I/O adapter 16 maintains per sNICpolicy contexts, indicative of active policies for corresponding computenodes 14 as specified in policy context 20. In some embodiments, thecentralized UCS manager provisions LUNs for compute nodes 14 using outof band management interface over an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus.I/O adapter 16 samples the I/O traffic originating from sNICs 24 tovarious LUNs on storage resource 18 and generates (and maintains)counters per sNIC interface or optionally per sNIC and per LUN (e.g.,<sNIC, LUN>).

According to various embodiments, shared storage controller 30 exposes acommand ring comprised of an array of command descriptors (of SCSIcommands) to storage firmware 28. Each command descriptor contains SCSIcommand related information, address pointers to data buffers in sharedstorage resource 18 and a variety of control information. The commandring comprises a circular buffer comprising the command descriptors.Embodiments of communication system 10 allocate tokens to commanddescriptors associated with I/O operations for accessing shared storageresource 18 (e.g., tokens represent command descriptors). In an exampleembodiment, storage firmware 20 allocates the token to the commanddescriptors.

For example, each command descriptor in the command ring is representedas a token associated with the corresponding I/O operation (e.g., SCSIcommand). As used herein, “token” is a special series of bits thattravels around a token-ring buffer, such as the command ring. As thetoken circulates, packet processors in I/O adapter 16 can capture it.The token acts like a ticket, enabling its owner (e.g., marked SCSIcommand) to be executed. In some embodiments, only one token isassociated with each I/O operation that accesses a specific portion ofshared storage resource 18. The tokens are managed in a common resourcepool and an arbiter routine (e.g., software code, microcode, computerprogram, process, thread, instructions, etc.) of storage firmware 28assigns the tokens to corresponding I/O commands.

Any suitable token management protocol may be used within the broadscope of the embodiments. For example, the tokens are distributed by thetoken ring: each cycle a packet processor's thread interface unit (TIU)passes on a token to the right and receives one from the left. Two basicinstructions are provided for ring management: the first instructionrequests a token; the processor removes a token from the ring, if one isavailable, and places it in the requesting thread's context. Therequesting thread is then allowed to fork and jump, much like asubroutine call. When the thread terminates, the second instructionreleases the token back into the ring. In a general sense, only SCSIcommand holding the token (e.g., marked with the token) can access theshared storage resource 18. In some embodiments, the token specifies anindex to be used in the command ring of shared storage controller 30.

For every I/O command, the arbiter routine decides to award or deny thetoken for that I/O command based on token availability in the commandring and policy context 20 for corresponding sNIC 24. If the arbiterroutine awards the token, a data processor in I/O adapter 16 initiates acommand request by posting the I/O command in the command queue ofshared storage controller 30. In various embodiments, the data processorexecutes storage firmware 28. If arbiter routine denies the token due tounavailability or based on policy context 20, the data processor returnsa “BUSY” status for that I/O command.

Shared storage controller 30 notifies the data processor of completionof the I/O command. The data processor forms a I/O completionnotification and forwards it to relevant compute node 14 that initiallyissued the SCSI command. The arbiter routine monitors the I/O completionnotifications and returns the token back to the common token pool. EachsNIC 24 provides a pair of (i) command queue and (ii) response queue forissuing I/O commands to shared storage controller 30 and also forreceiving I/O completion notifications. Moreover, I/O adapter 16 gathersstorage I/O statistics and token arbitration without impacting data pathperformance. In some embodiments, the administrator can change thestorage QoS policy even when compute nodes 14 are operational and I/Osare active. Policy changes are communicated to storage firmware 28 viaVIC protocol control messages and are validated before being enforced.

Turning to the infrastructure of communication system, network topologyof the network including microserver chassis 12 can include any numberof compute nodes, servers, hardware accelerators, virtual machines,switches (including distributed virtual switches), routers, and othernodes inter-connected to form a large and complex network. A node may beany electronic device, client, server, peer, service, application, orother object capable of sending, receiving, or forwarding informationover communications channels in a network. Elements of FIG. 1 may becoupled to one another through one or more interfaces employing anysuitable connection (wired or wireless), which provides a viable pathwayfor electronic communications. Additionally, any one or more of theseelements may be combined or removed from the architecture based onparticular configuration needs.

Communication system 10 may include a configuration capable of TCP/IPcommunications for the electronic transmission or reception of datapackets in a network. Communication system 10 may also operate inconjunction with a User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol (UDP/IP) orany other suitable protocol, where appropriate and based on particularneeds. In addition, gateways, routers, switches, and any other suitablenodes (physical or virtual) may be used to facilitate electroniccommunication between various nodes in the network.

Note that the numerical and letter designations assigned to the elementsof FIG. 1 do not connote any type of hierarchy; the designations arearbitrary and have been used for purposes of teaching only. Suchdesignations should not be construed in any way to limit theircapabilities, functionalities, or applications in the potentialenvironments that may benefit from the features of communication system10. It should be understood that communication system 10 shown in FIG. 1is simplified for ease of illustration.

The example network environment may be configured over a physicalinfrastructure that may include one or more networks and, further, maybe configured in any form including, but not limited to, local areanetworks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), VLANs,metropolitan area networks (MANs), VPNs, Intranet, Extranet, any otherappropriate architecture or system, or any combination thereof thatfacilitates communications in a network.

In some embodiments, a communication link may represent any electroniclink supporting a LAN environment such as, for example, cable, Ethernet,wireless technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.11x), ATM, fiber optics, etc. orany suitable combination thereof. In other embodiments, communicationlinks may represent a remote connection through any appropriate medium(e.g., digital subscriber lines (DSL), telephone lines, T1 lines, T3lines, wireless, satellite, fiber optics, cable, Ethernet, etc. or anycombination thereof) and/or through any additional networks such as awide area networks (e.g., the Internet).

In various embodiments, microserver chassis 12 may comprise arack-mounted enclosure, blade enclosure, or a rack computer that acceptsplug-in compute nodes 14. Note that microserver chassis 12 can include,in a general sense, any suitable network element, which encompassescomputers, network appliances, servers, routers, switches, gateways,bridges, load-balancers, firewalls, processors, modules, or any othersuitable device, component, element, or object operable to exchangeinformation in a network environment. Moreover, the network elements mayinclude any suitably configured hardware provisioned with suitablesoftware, components, modules, interfaces, or objects that facilitatethe operations thereof. This may be inclusive of appropriate algorithmsand communication protocols that allow for the effective exchange ofdata or information.

Compute nodes 14 may comprise printed circuit boards, for example,manufactured with empty sockets. Each printed circuit board may holdmore than one processor (e.g., within the same processor family,differing core counts, with a wide range of frequencies and vastlydiffering memory cache structures may be included in a singleprocessor/socket combination). In some embodiments, each compute node 14may comprise one or mode central processing unit (CPU) and memory withstandard PCIe connectivity to chassis resources, including storageresource 18. Components shared in microserver chassis 12 includes power,management, cooling, storage and networking.

I/O adapter 16 may include an electronic circuit, expansion card orplug-in module that accepts input and generates output in a particularformat. I/O adapter 16 facilitates conversion of data format andelectronic timing between input/output streams and internal computercircuits of microserver chassis 12. In an example embodiment, I/Oadapter 16 comprises five Microprocessor without Interlocked PipelineStages (MIPS) processors, with one of them executing control firmwareand the remaining handling the storage data path.

Embodiments of communication system 10 facilitate achieving both minimumbandwidth utilization and maximum bandwidth utilization of sharedstorage resource 18 by compute nodes 14 within microserver chassis 12.Further, various policy enforcement operations described herein areperformed on sNICs 24 without manual intervention or any intervention bycompute nodes 14. In other words, the policy enforcement is transparentto compute nodes 14.

Whereas communication system 10 has been described with reference to amicroserver computing environment, it will be appreciated that theoperations described herein can be executed at any network level whereina plurality of computing devices access shared storage resources. Forexample, the operations performed by I/O adapter 16 may be extended toexecute at switch 22. Thus, the operations described herein may beapplied to a storage area network (SAN) environment with servers inphysically distinct chassis sharing storage resources in the SAN. Policyenforcement using tokens, and per-sNIC policy contexts, etc. asdescribed herein may be performed at switch 22 connecting the servers insuch scenarios.

The number of applications running in a typical data center is growingexponentially. With this, the demand for servers and networkinfrastructure is also constantly growing. Massively Scalable DataCenters are being hosted by various cloud providers. The microserverarchitecture allows use of more compute nodes using less physical space.For efficient management of such microserver infrastructure, it isdesirable to consolidate management planes at single point of control,as is possible with embodiments of communication system 10. Also,different treatment of storage traffic based on the workload andapplication performance is possible through enforcement of appropriatepolicy contexts 20. Embodiments of communication system 10 allowdefining a storage QoS policy from centralized management software inswitch 22 and dynamically updating the QoS based on demand andrequirements.

Turning to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustratingexample details of microserver chassis 12 according to an embodiment ofcommunication system 10. Embodiments of communication system 10facilitate improvement of existing VIC protocol to communicate percompute node storage QoS policies using various functional blocks tosample per compute node or per sNIC I/O statistics without addinglatency. Compute nodes 14 are referred in the figure as Host-1 throughHost-N. For simplicity's sake, example details associated with a singlecompute node, namely Host-1 are described further. Note that thedescription is equally applicable to all of compute nodes 14.

Host-1 is associated with a particular sNIC 24, namely, sNIC-1,provisioned with a command queue 32, to which a host driver of anapplication executing in Host-1 posts a I/O operation (e.g., SCSIcommand), such as a read command, or a write command as a SCSI packetthrough sNIC-1. Command queue 32 may be provisioned in sNIC-1 associatedwith Host-1 by a control firmware, which forms a portion of storagefirmware 28. sNIC-1 may encapsulate the SCSI packet in an Ethernetpacket with an appropriate Ethernet header. A packet classifier 34 inI/O adapter 16 filters the Ethernet packet using appropriate SCSIcommand filters 36. In some embodiments, packet classifier 34 filtersthe Ethernet packet based on its Layer 2 (L2) to Layer 5 (L5) headerfields.

The filtered result comprises a key which can be used to index into aflow table 38, which includes a plurality of entries associated withSCSI commands corresponding to sNICs 24, among other parameters. In theexample shown, flow table entry 40 is associated with a SCSI commandcorresponding to sNIC-1. Flow table 38 facilitates recording storagetraffic in microserver chassis 12 based on suitable match criteria forfurther analysis. In a general sense, flow table 38 may be used to trackpacket flows based on suitable match criteria applied to header fieldsin the Ethernet packets' L2-L5 headers. In some embodiments, flow table38 provides a secondary look up table after packets are filtered atpacket classifier 34. In some embodiments, any match in flow table 38updates associated statistics in hardware (e.g., ASIC) in I/O adapter16. The statistics include packet count, byte count and latesttimestamp. In some embodiments, each flow table entry is also associatedwith an action field, such as forwarding the packet to a suitable queue,or executing an appropriate microcode routine.

Note that packet classifier 34 and flow table 38 classify and trackEthernet packets. In a general sense, packet classifier 34 and flowtable 38 are generally available in any I/O adapter and are configuredtypically for Ethernet packet processing. Such general purpose packetclassifier 34 and flow table 38 can be modified according to embodimentsof communication system 10 to include appropriate filters to filter(e.g., identify, screen, etc.) SCSI commands and responses (e.g.,containing CDB and LUN information) formatted as Ethernet packets with areserved internal Ether type.

In various embodiments, the flow table lookup of the filtered resultfrom packet classifier 34 triggers execution of an arbiter routine (orother such action) in a packet processor 42. In an example embodiment,packet processor 42 processes packets on ingress or egress paths perUplink InterFace (UIF) of I/O adapter 16. In some embodiments, thearbiter routine comprises various special microcode routines (also knownas Rewrite Rules). which are executed in packet processor 42 to modifycontents of the packets and to further perform other actions.

The arbiter routine, which can comprise a microcode routine in someembodiments, decides to award or deny a token to the SCSI command fromsNIC-1 based on token availability in a common token pool 46 andaccording to a per sNIC policy context 48. Common token pool 46 containstokens allowing I/O commands to be executed or returned back to the hostwith a BUSY/QUEUE FULL status. In various embodiments, common token pool46 is derived from the command ring provided by shared storagecontroller 30. The command descriptors of the command ring are managedas resources and allocated from common token pool 46.

According to an example embodiment, common token pool 46 comprises acircular buffer marked by a producer and consumer index. The arbiterroutine awards tokens to the SCSI commands from the circular buffer. Thearbiter routine also returns tokens back to common token pool 46 afterI/O command completion. In various embodiments, a single packetprocessor 42 manages the award and return of tokens from and to commontoken pool 46.

In various embodiments, per sNIC policy context 48 is derived by acontrol processor 50 from policy context 20 in some embodiments. PersNIC policy context 48 holds per sNIC storage access parameters of sNICs24 configured according to policy context 20 received from switch 22 atI/O adapter 16. In an example embodiment, the per sNIC storage accessparameters comprise maximum bandwidth, minimum bandwidth or maximum IOPSassociated with storage traffic. In various embodiments, controlprocessor 50 comprises a MIPS based processor executing control pathfirmware. The control path firmware executing in control processor 50configures sNICs 24 and shared storage resource 18 mapped to computenodes 14, handles VIC protocol communication between I/O adapter 16 andthe UCS manager executing on switch 22, and handles requests from hostdrivers to change states of sNICs 24.

In one example, the administrator specifies values of various storageaccess parameters for each compute node 14 in policy context 20; controlprocessor 50 retrieves the association of each compute node 14 with itscorresponding sNIC 24 (e.g., Host-1 is associated with sNIC-1); controlprocessor 50 applies the various storage parameters specified in policycontext 20 with corresponding sNIC 24 based on the retrievedassociation. In another example, the administrator specifies values ofvarious storage access parameters for groups of compute nodes 14 (e.g.,compute nodes 14 executing web applications can use a maximum of xamount of bandwidth; compute nodes 14 executing database applicationsmust have a minimum of y amount of bandwidth; etc.) in policy context20. Control processor 50 identifies compute nodes 14 in the respectivegroups, retrieves association of each identified compute node 14 withits corresponding sNIC 24, and applies the various storage parametersspecified in policy context 20 with corresponding sNIC 24 based on theretrieved association. Note that the groups of compute nodes 14 can bebased on any suitable criterion, such as applications, users,authentication parameters, user roles, compute node hardware, etc.within the broad scope of the embodiments.

Turning back to operations on the Ethernet packet from sNIC-1, thearbiter routine executing in packet processor 42 strips the Ethernetheader off the Ethernet packet (using any suitable stripping procedureknown in the art) and posts the SCSI command into a command responsequeue (RQ) 52 at a data path processor 54. In various embodiments, datapath processor 54 comprises a MIPs based processor in I/O adapter 16. Ifthe token has been awarded, the I/O command is forwarded to sharedstorage controller 30 through root complex 26. Root complex 26 providesconnectivity to storage controller 30 over a PCIe interface. The DMAoperation associated with the I/O command is carried out directlybetween storage controller 30 and Host-1 over a PCIe bus.

Resources (e.g., command ring) of storage controller 30 are directlymapped to a VIC address space (e.g., memory space) in I/O adapter 16;control path and data path firmware running on various MIPS processors(e.g., data path processor 54) in I/O adapter 16 can access the memorymapped space to issue the I/O commands. Storage controller 30 canperform DMA to or from server address spaces (in memory) using suitablyspecialized hardware (e.g., ternary content addressable memory (TCAM)table).

Data path processor 54 is notified when the I/O operation is complete.For example, I/O completion interrupts are mapped to data path processor54, which thereafter generates a completion event to be sent to Host-1.Data path processor 54 creates a I/O completion notification indicatingcompletion of the SCSI command from sNIC-1 and posts the I/O completionnotification in a response work queue (WQ) 56. The I/O completionnotification is encapsulated in an appropriate Ethernet packet having asuitable Ethernet header according to embodiments described herein.

Packet classifier 34 filters the Ethernet header according to SCSIresponse filters 58. The result of the filtering comprises a key that isused as an index into flow table 38. The Ethernet response packets arematched with appropriate response entries 60 corresponding to sNIC-1associated with the I/O completion notification. Had the I/O completionnotification been an indication of “BUSY” or “QUEUE FULL” status,another appropriate busy response entry 61 corresponding to sNIC-1provides the requisite match. Any match in flow table 38 triggersexecution of an appropriate arbiter routine in packet processor 42. Thearbiter routine returns the token associated with the I/O command tocommon token pool 46 and posts the I/O completion notification in aresponse queue 62 of Host-1.

In various embodiments, the arbiter routine indicated in flow table 38varies according a type of the SCSI packet. If the SCSI packetencapsulated in the Ethernet packet comprises a SCSI command, thearbiter routine determines if policy context 20 permits a token fetch;if the policy context permits the token fetch, the arbiter routineattempts to fetch one of the tokens from common token pool 46. On theother hand, if the SCSI packet encapsulated in the Ethernet packetcomprises a SCSI response, the arbiter routine increments a hit counterin flow table 38 indicative of a number of I/O operations completed forsNIC-1 of Host-1, decapsulates the Ethernet packet and forwards the SCSIresponse to sNIC-1. Further, if the SCSI packet encapsulated in theEthernet packet comprises a SCSI busy response indicating tokenunavailability, the arbiter routine decapsulates the Ethernet packet andforwards the SCSI busy response to sNIC-1.

Turning to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a simplified diagram illustrating exampledetails of control processor 50 according to an embodiment ofcommunication system 10. In a general sense, control path firmwareinitializes various flow table entries (e.g., 40, 60, 61) in flow table38 and filters (e.g., 36, 58) in packet classifier 34 based on the QoSpolicies defined for associated sNIC 24 in policy context 20. Thecontrol path firmware calculates the maximum and minimum thresholdtokens and maximum IOPS during implementation of I/O commands.

The control path firmware initializes a QoS monitor 64, which runsperiodically on control processor 50. QoS Monitor 64 administerssystem-wide QoS policies across sNICs 24 and/or compute nodes 14. QoSMonitor 64 has a global view of the total load on shared storageresource 18, including visibility to current bandwidth utilization ofvarious sNICs 24 and policy context 20. As an example, a monitor thread(e.g., sequence of instructions) of QoS monitor 64 can make decisions toprovide guaranteed bandwidth for sNICs 24, which request such guaranteedbandwidth. QoS monitor 64 includes two monitor threads: a low frequency(e.g., once a second) periodic sampler 66 and a higher frequencythrottler 68. QoS monitor 64 also maintains a sNIC list 70, comprising alist of sNICs 24 in microserver chassis 12.

Periodic sampler 66 samples the I/O operations being executed andupdates the per sNIC IOPS parameter in flow table 38. Throttler 68 isscheduled to run at a higher frequency if low frequency periodic sampler66 detects violations of policy context 20. High frequency throttler 68attempts to correct the violations by dynamically throttling andun-throttling sNICs 24.

During operation, periodic sampler 66 samples flow table entries (e.g.,40, 60, 61) for sNICs 24 in flow table 38. Periodic sampler 66 measuresIOPS based on the number of I/O completions sampled in successive runs.For sNICs 24 that have requested bandwidth reservation according toassociated policy context 20, a “starve counter” is examined in thecorresponding flow table entry. If the starve counter is 0, nothing isdone. On the other hand, a non-zero starve counter, and/or a number ofoutstanding token count lower than a minimum threshold token indicatesstarvation (e.g., unavailability of requested bandwidth reservation).The sNIC is considered as a “starving sNIC” and added to a starving sNIClist 72. In an example embodiment, periodic sampler 66 identifiessubstantially all starving sNICs in a single sweep (e.g., execution) andschedules throttler 68 to handle the situation.

In various embodiments, high frequency throttler 68 is invoked ondemand, and it executes at a higher frequency (than periodic sampler 66)until the starving situation is remedied and the violation of policycontext 20 disappears. In an example embodiment when it is invoked,throttler 68 is scheduled to execute every 100 ms until starving sNICs24 are no longer starved. In various embodiments, throttler 68 make alist of sNICs 24 that can be throttled and lists such sNICs in athrottled sNIC list 74. sNICs 24 may be listed in throttled sNIC list 74based on several criteria: for example, sNICs 24 without any associatedpolicy context may be added to throttled sNIC list 74; sNICs 24 thathave relatively lower priority according to policy context 20 may beadded to throttled sNIC list 74 (e.g., low priority sNICs are addedbefore normal priority sNICs); sNICs having a “Max TOPS” (0x01) policytype or “Max Bandwidth utilization” (0x02) policy type may be added tothrottled sNIC list 74; sNICs having lower bandwidth requirement and notexperiencing any violation of respective per sNIC policy context 48 maybe added to throttled sNIC list 74; and so on. The operating state ofsuch sNICs added to throttled sNIC list 74 may be set to “PAUSED”.

In an example embodiment, the state of starved sNICs may be checkedafter a predetermined wait period (e.g., 100 ms). If the situation hasnot improved (e.g., number of starved sNICs remains the same; or thesame set of sNICs continue to be starved; etc.), additional sNICs may beadded to throttled sNIC list 74. The operations may continue untilpreviously starved sNICs 24 are able to perform I/O operations at adesired (e.g., guaranteed) bandwidth utilization. Thereupon, highfrequency throttler 68 ceases to reschedule itself and terminates itsoperation. In some embodiments, before terminating, high frequencythrottler 68 also updates QoS monitor 64 to indicate completion of thethrottling task.

In various embodiments, periodic sampler 66 detects during executionthat certain sNICs 24 are being throttled; thereupon, periodic sampler66 monitors the condition of such sNICs 24 that have minimum (e.g.,guaranteed, required, etc.) bandwidth requirement. If all sNICs 24 areable to perform I/O operations at the minimum (e.g., guaranteed,required, etc.) bandwidth utilization, periodic sampler 66 startsunblocking sNICs 24 by traversing the throttled sNIC list 74 in thereverse order. In some embodiments, low frequency periodic sampler 66unblocks only a subset of throttled sNICs to avoid overload oncommunication system 10. Periodic sampler 66 also monitors the currentstarvation situation and stops the unblock operation if it detects thatsome (or at least one) sNICs 24 are starved. Embodiments ofcommunication system 10 can facilitate achieving both minimum andmaximum bandwidth utilization of shared storage resource 18 without anyintervention from compute nodes 14 or the administrator.

Turning to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a simplified diagram illustrating exampledetails of an Ethernet command packet 80 comprising a SCSI commandaccording to an embodiment of communication system 10. The platformdependent host driver registers with a SCSI mid layer to receive SCSII/O commands. The host driver discovers LUNs configured in storageresource 18 during initialization and presents them to the SCSI midlayer. The mid layer sends an I/O command to storage resource 18 bypassing a SCSI Command Descriptor Block (CDB) and associated buffers forreceiving data and status. The host driver encapsulates the SCSI commandin the format shown in the FIGURE.

The SCSI CDB and other command parameters are encapsulated in Ethernetcommand packet 80. Ethernet command packet 80 uses a fake presetdestination Media Access Control (MAC) address 82, source MAC address84, and Ethertype 85 to indicate its status as a SCSI command. In anexample, source and destination MAC addresses 84 and 82 respectively,comprise unique MAC addresses (e.g., 0xBBBBBBBBBBBB and 0xAAAAAAAAAAAA,respectively); Ethertype 85 comprises a value of 0xFFFF. Values ofsource MAC address 84 and destination MAC address 82 and Ethertype 85are programmed in packet classifier 34 to trap Ethernet command packet80. For example, a value of 0xBBBBBBBBBBBB in source MAC address 84 anda value of 0xAAAAAAAAAAAA in destination MAC address 82 indicate thatEthernet command packet 80 encapsulates a SCSI command.

Ethernet command packet 80 can also include various other fields andcorresponding values. For example, an opcode field is one byte long andindicates if the command is READ/WRITE or any other control commandaccording to SCSI specifications. A CDB field can be 6, 10, 12 and 16bytes based on the size of data transfer or logical block addressing(LBA) being accessed. The CDB field is followed by a data bufferconsisting of write data or space where READ data is copied. Ethernetcommand packet 80 also carries information about a sense buffer tohandle termination of the command with a check condition. A reservedfield of 4 bytes, which is not updated by the host driver may also beprovided to be used by the arbiter routine to record the token for thatI/O operation. The host driver forms Ethernet command packet 80 andposts it on command work queue (e.g., 32). Ethernet command packet 80 ispassed through packet classifier 34 on its way to data path processor54, where it is processed and the I/O request is forwarded to sharedstorage controller 30.

Turning to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a simplified diagram illustrating exampledetails of an Ethernet response packet 86 comprising a SCSI responseaccording to an embodiment of communication system 10. Ethernet responsepacket 86 uses a fake preset destination MAC address 88, source MACaddress 90, and Ethertype 91 to indicate its status as a SCSI response.In an example, destination and source MAC addresses 88 and 90respectively comprise unique MAC addresses (e.g., 0xBBBBBBBBBBBB and0xAAAAAAAAAAAA, respectively); value of Etherytype 91 comprises 0xFFFF.Values of source MAC address 90, destination MAC address 88 andEthertype 91 are programmed in packet classifier 34 to trap Ethernetresponse packet 86. For example, a value of 0xBBBBBBBBBBBB indestination MAC address 88 and a value of 0xAAAAAAAAAAAA in source MACaddress 90 indicate that Ethernet response packet 86 encapsulates a SCSIresponse.

According to various embodiments, the I/O completions are formed byfirmware executing on data path processor 54. Shared storage controller30 notifies data path processor 54 after completion of a SCSI command.The firmware finds the associated SCSI command request and forms (e.g.,generates, creates, etc.) Ethernet response packet 86 with fields asindicated in the figure. The firmware also places the token (CMD token)and sends the I/O completion notification comprising Ethernet responsepacket 86 on its response WQ 56. The I/O completion notification passesthrough packet classifier 34 and flow table 38 and is processed suitablyas described herein.

Turning to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a simplified diagram illustrating exampledetails of an Ethernet BUSY packet 92 according to an embodiment ofcommunication system 10. During operation, when the firmware detectsthat there are no command descriptors to post the SCSI command, eitherbecause tokens are not available in common token pool 46, or per sNICpolicy context 48 does not permit execution of the SCSI command, thefirmware returns a BUSY/QUEUE FULL status back to the host driver usingEthernet BUSY packet 92. Ethernet BUSY packet 92 uses a fake destinationMAC address 94, source MAC address 96, and Ethertype 97 to indicate itsstatus as a SCSI response. In an example, destination and source MACaddresses 94 and 96 respectively comprise unique MAC addresses (e.g.,0xBBBBBBBBBBBB and 0xAAAAAAAAAAAA, respectively); value of Ethertype 97comprises 0xFFFE. Values of source MAC address 96 and destination MACaddress 94 and Ethertype 97 are programmed in packet classifier 34 totrap Ethernet BUSY packet 92. A status field 98 in Ethernet BUSY packet92 indicates the BUSY/QUEUE FULL status.

Turning to FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a simplified diagram illustrating exampledetails of packet classifier 34 according to an embodiment ofcommunication system 10. Though SCSI command is processed by one of thedata path processor, the firmware running on the control processor isresponsible for sampling and aggregating the IOPS and throughputmeasurements periodically. Packet classifier 34 includes a filter field,a filter identifier (ID) field, and an action field. The SCSI commandsissued by the host matches the SCSI command filter as configured inpacket classifier 34. Example SCSI command filter 36 corresponds tocertain destination MAC address value (e.g., 0xAAAAAAAAAAAA), source MACaddress value (e.g., 0xBBBBBBBBBBBB) and Ethernet type (e.g., 0xFFFF).The filter ID value (e.g., 1) indicates that the filter is applied to aSCSI command packet. The action field indicates that flow table 38 is tobe looked up. Example SCSI response filter 58 corresponds to certaindestination MAC address value (e.g., 0xBBBBBBBBBBBB), source MAC addressvalue (e.g., 0xAAAAAAAAAAAA) and Ethernet type (e.g., 0xFFFF). Thefilter ID value (e.g., 2 or 3) indicates that the filter is applied to aSCSI response packet or SCSI BUSY response packet; Ethertype (e.g.,0xFFFF or 0xFFFE) distinguishes a SCSI response packet from a SCSI BUSYresponse packet. The action field indicates that flow table 38 is to belooked up.

Turning to FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a simplified diagram illustrating exampledetails of a key 100 returned by packet classifier 34 after filteringthe Ethernet packets comprising SCSI commands or SCSI responses(including SCSI busy responses) according to an embodiment ofcommunication system 10. Key 100 to index into flow table 38 is formedby two parameters, filter ID and Logical Interface (LIF) ID. The filterID identifies a classification type (e.g., command, response, busy) ofthe I/O operation. The LIF ID identifies the particular Host-1 or sNIC-1associated with the I/O operation (e.g., which has issued the command orto which the response is destined). In an example embodiment, key 100comprises a 13-bit key to a flow entry in flow table 38; the flow entryis 64 bytes wide, resulting in a flow table of size 512 KB.

Turning to FIG. 9, FIG. 9 is a simplified diagram illustrating exampledetails of policy context 20 according to an embodiment of communicationsystem 10. In various embodiments, the administrator can define storageQoS policies per compute node on a suitable GUI of UCS manager. Policycontext 20 corresponding to each sNIC 24 and/or compute node 14 (e.g.,sNIC-1, or Host-1) may comprise a state field 102, a priority field 104and a policy type field 106. Note that although the example details aredescribed in relation to particular sNIC-1 and/or Host-1, thedescription is equally applicable to any of sNICs 24 and/or computenodes 14.

State field 102 indicates if I/O operations for associated sNIC-1 are“PAUSED” or “NOT PAUSED” (e.g., operational). sNIC-1 with a state ofPAUSED is to be throttled. Priority field 104 indicates one ofpriorities “High,” “Normal” and “Low” (note that any suitable number ofpriorities may be specified to indicate relative importance ofassociated sNIC-1 among a plurality of sNICs 24). The value of priorityfield 104 indicates the relative priority of associated sNIC-1 and it isused to determine whether particular sNIC-1 should be throttled in theevent of over subscription. The administrator sets the value of priorityfield 104.

Policy type field 106 may indicate, merely as examples and not aslimitations, maximum IOPS, maximum bandwidth utilization, minimumbandwidth guarantee, maximum IOPS+minimum bandwidth guarantee, andmaximum bandwidth allowed+minimum bandwidth guaranteed. The policy typesmay be identified by label values, for example: policy type label=0x01corresponds to maximum IOPS allowed for associated sNIC-1 (or Host-1);policy type label=0x02 corresponds to maximum bandwidth utilizationallowed, specifying a maximum percentage utilization of shared storageresource 18 that can be used by associated sNIC-1 (or Host-1); policytype label=0x04 corresponds to minimum bandwidth utilization guaranteed,specifying a minimum percentage utilization of shared storage resource18 to be reserved for associated sNIC-1 (or Host-1); policy typelabel=0x05 corresponds to maximum IOPs allowed and minimum bandwidthguaranteed for associated sNIC-1 (or Host-1); and policy type label=0x06corresponds to maximum bandwidth allowed and minimum bandwidthguaranteed for associated sNIC-1 (or Host-1). Policy types 0x01 and 0x02specify an upper ceiling for the storage utilization. whereas policy0x06 defines a lower ceiling. For given sNIC-1 (or Host-1), theadministrator can also specify a minimum value and a maximum valuecombination (e.g., <MIN, MAX>) to define both upper and lower limits.Policy type labels indicated herein (e.g., 0x01, 0x02, etc.) arearbitrary, and could include any suitable alphanumeric identifier withinthe broad scope of the embodiments.

Policy context 20 further includes a starve counter 108, denoting acount of I/O commands that had to be busied continuously due to lack oftokens. When a specific I/O command is awarded a token, starve counterfield 108 is set to zero. Otherwise, every unsuccessful I/O commandexecution increments (e.g., by 1), the value of starve counter field108. An outstanding tokens field 110 indicates a count of tokensconsumed by associated sNIC-1 which are yet to be returned back tocommon token pool 46. The value of outstanding tokens field 110indicates the number of outstanding I/O commands for sNIC-1.

A maximum threshold tokens field 112 indicates the maximum number oftokens that can be outstanding at any given time for any policy typethat includes a maximum bandwidth limitation. Any I/O command resultingin the current outstanding token count to increase beyond the value ofmaximum outstanding tokens field 112 is throttled. A minimum thresholdtokens field 114 indicates the minimum number of tokens required tosustain the guaranteed bandwidth utilization for any policy type thatincludes a minimum bandwidth guarantee. If current outstanding tokencount decreases below the value of minimum threshold tokens field 114,starve counter 108 is incremented until I/O operations of other sNICs 24are throttled. A maximum IOPS field 116 specifies the allowed maximumIOPS for any policy type that specifies the maximum IOPS.

Turning to FIG. 10, FIG. 10 is a simplified diagram illustrating exampledetails of flow table 38 according to an embodiment of communicationsystem 10. According to an example embodiment, each of sNICs 24, forexample, sNIC-1, is associated with three flow table entries, namelycommand entry 40, response entry 60 and BUSY response entry 61. As anexample, consider command entry 40. Command entry 40 includes fields fora key, packet count, total I/O bytes, IOPs, sNIC policy context, rewriterules and steering action. The key indicates the LIF ID (e.g., whichidentifies the sNIC associated with the flow table entry, say sNIC-1)and filter ID. For a SCSI command, the filter ID corresponds to 1 (orother suitable unique identifier).

During operation, packet classifier 34 filters Ethernet command packet80 and returns key 100, including LIF ID for sNIC-1 and filter ID 1. Key100 is used to index into flow table 38; the lookup yields command entry40 for sNIC-1. The total command count for sNIC-1 is entered into thepacket count field. The value indicates the total number of I/Ooperations initiated by sNIC-1. In various embodiments, each flow tableentry records the number of hits in flow table 38. For example, thepacket count field value for all entries in the aggregate indicates thetotal number of hits in flow table 38 during a specified predeterminedtime interval. Because the space allocated for tuples is larger than thesize of the key (2 bytes) used to index, the remaining space in flowtable 38 can be used to store per sNIC policy context information and totrack I/O related information, such as the total bytes transferred in asuccessful I/O operation. In various embodiments, the total I/O bytesfield is updated by appropriate microcode routines invoked as part ofthe I/O completion handling.

Total I/O bytes field remains empty for filter ID associated with theSCSI command. IOPS field indicates the IOPS completion per second forsNIC-1; the value of the field is completed after the associated SCSIcommand is successfully completed. In an example embodiment, the I/Ocompletions per second are monitored by a thread executing on controlprocessor 50. It measures the IOPS by taking into account the number ofsuccessful completions per second from flow table entry 60 correspondingto the same LIF ID (sNIC-1) and filter ID=2. sNIC policy context fieldindicates the policy type for sNIC-1 (e.g., storage access parametersand the context required to maintain active state). The rewrite rulesfield identifies the specific arbiter routine to be used for sNIC-1 forthe specific filter ID 1. The value of the rewrite rules field providesan address or ID of the rewrite rule to be invoked as a result of theflow table hit. A steering action field provides an RQ number associatedwith a particular data processor (e.g., 54) where the associated SCSIcommand is processed.

Similarly, in the response data path, Ethernet response packet 86 forsNIC-1 returns key 100, including LIF ID for sNIC-1 and filter ID 2 atpacket classifier 34. Key 100 is used to index into flow table 38; thelookup yields command entry 60 for sNIC-1. The total response count forsNIC-1 is entered into the packet count field. The value indicates thetotal number of I/O operations successfully completed by sNIC-1. Thetotal bytes transferred in the successful I/O operation is entered inthe total I/O bytes field. In some embodiments, the value of the fieldindicates the cumulative bytes transferred for associated sNIC-1. ThesNIC policy context field is populated by an address pointing to the QoSpolicy context area for associated sNIC-1. The policy context ismaintained in flow table entry 40 associated with sNIC-1 and filterID=1. Rewrite rule field is populated (by firmware executing on controlprocessor 50) with the address or ID of the rewrite rule to be invokedas a result of the flow table hit. The steering action field ispopulated (by firmware executing on control processor 50) with the hostRQ to which the packet is forwarded.

Likewise, in the BUSY response path, Ethernet BUSY packet 92 for sNIC-1returns key 100, including LIF ID for sNIC-1 and filter ID 3 at packetclassifier 34. Key 100 is used to index into flow table 38; the lookupyields command entry 61 for sNIC-1. The total number of commandsresponded with BUSY status is entered in the packet count field. Thetotal I/O bytes field and the IOPS field remain empty. The rewrite rulefield provides a decap rewrite rule to be invoked to strip off theEthernet header of Ethernet BUSY packet 92. The value of the steeringaction field indicates the host RQ of sNIC-1 to which the packet isforwarded.

Turning to FIG. 11, FIG. 11 is a simplified flow diagram illustratingexample operations 120 that may be associated with an embodiment ofcommunication system 10. At 122, the host driver places a SCSI commandin command work queue 32 of sNIC-1 as Ethernet command packet 80. At124, packet classifier 34 filters Ethernet command packet 80encapsulating the SCSI command. Ethernet command packet 80 finds a matchin packet classifier 34, which returns a tuple <Filter ID=1, LIF Id> askey 100 at 126. Filter ID=1 classifies the packet as a SCSI commandpacket. Note that although filters IDs of 1, 2 and 3 are disclosedherein, any suitable filter ID value may be used within the broad scopeof the embodiments to represent SCSI command, SCSI response and SCSIBUSY response.

At 128, key 100 is used to index into flow table 38, according to theaction step mandated in packet classifier 34. At 130, the flow tablematch returns a steering action and arbiter routine (e.g., rewrite rule)to be invoked on Ethernet command packet 80 comprising the SCSI command.The flow table hit counter (e.g., packet count field) associated withthe lookup entry is also incremented at 132. At 134, appropriate arbiterroutine fetches per sNIC policy context 48 for corresponding sNIC-1 (orHost-1). In an example embodiment, the policy context is stored in aflow table memory region to ensure its presence in an L2 cache.

At 136, arbiter routine determines whether the policy context permits atoken fetch. For example, policy context 20 for sNIC-1 is read. If thevalue of state field 102 is PAUSED, indicating that the I/O operation isthrottled, no token is awarded. If policy type field 106 has a value of0x01 or 0x05 (or otherwise indicates maximum IOPS count), the arbiterroutine checks the current IOPS count, and if it is higher than thevalue in maximum IOPs field 116, no token is awarded. If the policy typefield 106 has a value of 0x02 or 0x06 (or otherwise indicates maximumbandwidth), the arbiter routine checks the current outstanding tokencount, and if it is greater than the value of maximum threshold tokensfield 112, the I/O operations is throttled and no token is awarded. If atoken fetch is permitted, at 138, the outstanding token count isincremented. At 140, packet processor 42 attempts a token fetch fromcommon token pool 46. At 142, a determination may be made whether atoken is available in common token pool 46. If a token is available, at144, the SCSI command is marked with the token. At 146, the Ethernetheader is stripped from Ethernet command packet 80. At 148, the SCSIcommand is placed in command RQ 52 for further processing by dataprocessor 54.

Turning back to 142, if no token is available in common token pool 46,at 150, a determination is made whether policy context 20 specifies aminimum bandwidth policy type. For example, policy types 0x04 and 0x06specify a minimum guaranteed bandwidth. If so, at 152, the value ofstarve counter field 108 is incremented and the command packet is markedto indicate the unavailability of the token at 156. On the other hand,if the token is awarded, the value of starve counter field 108 is resetto zero. At 150, if the policy type does not specify any minimumbandwidth, the operations step to 156, at which the command packet ismarked to indicate the unavailability of the token. The operations stepto 148, with the SCSI command being placed in command RQ 52 for furtherprocessing by data processor 54. Turning back to 136, if policy context20 does not permit a token fetch, the operations step to 156, at whichthe command packet is marked to indicate the unavailability of thetoken, and continue thereafter. In any case, the command arrives at datapath processor 54 either with an assigned token or indication that thecommand cannot be processed and is to be busied. Data processor 54 usesa command index specified in the token to issue an I/O command to sharedstorage controller 30, or takes other steps as appropriate.

Turning to FIG. 12, FIG. 12 is a simplified flow diagram illustratingexample operations 160 that may be associated with embodiments ofcommunication system 10. At 162, policy context 20 associated withsNIC-1 may be fetched by the arbiter routine. At 164, value of statefield 102 of policy context 20 for sNIC-1 is read. At 166, adetermination is made if the value of state field 102 is PAUSED. If not,at 168, value of policy type field 106 is read. According to variousembodiments, the policy type may indicate maximum bandwidth (e.g.,policy type=0x02 or 0x06), or maximum IOPS (e.g., policy type=0x01 or0x5). If the policy type indicates maximum IOPS at 170, at 172, currentIOPS is checked. At 174, a determination is made whether the currentIOPS is higher than the value in maximum IOPs field 116. If it is nothigher, at 176, token fetch is permitted. On the other hand, if it ishigher, at 178, token fetch is denied.

Turning to 168, if the policy type indicates maximum bandwidth at 180,at 182, the current outstanding token count is checked by the arbiterroutine in packet processor 42. if it is greater than the value ofmaximum threshold tokens field 112, the I/O operations is throttled andno token is awarded at 178. If it is not greater than the value ofmaximum threshold tokens field 112, the token fetch may be permitted at176. Turning back to 166, if the context state is PAUSED, indicating theI/O operation is throttled, the operations step to 178, at which thetoken fetch is denied.

Turning to FIG. 13, FIG. 13 is a simplified flow diagram illustratingoperations 190 that may be associated with embodiments of communicationsystem 10. At 192, shared storage controller 30 notifies data pathprocessor 54 that DMA operation is complete. At 194, data path processor54 processes the I/O completion notification, associating thenotification with the outstanding I/O command. At 196, data pathprocessor generates Ethernet response packet 86 and posts Ethernetresponse packet 86 in its Response WQ 58. At 198, packet classifier 34filters Ethernet response packet 86, for example, by matching relevantfields with the filter values. At 200, packet classifier 34 returns theresult of the match as a tuple, <Filter ID=2, LIF ID>. At 202, key 100is used to index into flow table 38. At 204, the flow table lookupreturns a steering action, RQ number associated with the SCSI command atsNIC-1, and an appropriate arbiter routine address.

At 206, the hit counter indicating number of I/O operations completedper second is incremented. At 208, the arbiter routine releases thetoken back to common token pool 46. At 210, the arbiter routinedecrements the outstanding token count in a QoS context table. At 212,the arbiter routine strips the Ethernet header from Ethernet responsepacket 86, and forwards the response to the designated RQ. At 214, theresponse packet arrives at the host RQ and interrupts the host driverthat initiated the SCSI I/O operation.

Turning to FIG. 14, FIG. 14 is a simplified flow diagram illustratingexample operations 220 that may be associated with embodiments ofcommunication system 10. At 222, the SCSI command is placed in commandRQ 52 of data processor 54. At 224, a determination is made whether theSCSI command can be processed. The determination is based on the tokenindicator associated with the SCSI command, or throttling of the I/Ooperation based on policy context 20. If tokens are available asindicated in the SCSI command, at 225, data path processor 54 sends theSCSI command to shared storage controller 30 for further processing. Ifno tokens are available, at 226, data path processor 54 forms (e.g.,generates, creates, formats, etc.) Ethernet BUSY packet 90 withstatus=BUSY. At 228, packet classifier 34 filters Ethernet BUSY packet90. At 230, packet classifier 54 returns key 100 with tuple <FilterID=3, LIF ID>. At 232, key 100 is used to index into flow table 38. At234, the flow table lookup returns an appropriate steering action,arbiter routine and RQ number associated with the response packet of theI/O operation. At 236, the arbiter routine strips the Ethernet headerfrom Ethernet BUSY packet 90, and forwards the response to thedesignated RQ. At 238, the BUSY packet arrives at the host RQ andinterrupts the host driver that initiated the SCSI I/O operation.

Turning to FIG. 15, FIG. 15 is a simplified flow diagram illustratingexample operations 240 performed by periodic sampler 66 that may beassociated with an embodiment of communication system 10. At 242, lowfrequency periodic sampler 66 samples the flow table entries for sNICs24 and measures IOPS based on the number of completions sampled insuccessive runs. At 244, period sampler 66 determines whether theparticular sNIC associated with the flow table entry being sampled hasopted for bandwidth reservation (e.g., policy context 20 indicatesminimum guaranteed bandwidth). If so, at 246, periodic sampler 66 checksthe value of starve counter field 108. A determination is made at 248 ifthe value of starve counter field 108 is zero. If the value of starvecounter field 108 is 0, the operations revert to 242, and other flowtable entries are sampled. If the value of starve counter field 108 isnon-zero, at 250, periodic sampler 66 checks the outstanding tokencount. At 252, a determination is made whether the outstanding tokencount is less than the value of minimum threshold tokens field 114. Ifnot, the operations revert to 242, and the next flow table entry issampled. If the outstanding token count is less than the value ofminimum threshold tokens field 114, starvation is indicated, where theI/O operations cannot be completed at the minimum guaranteed bandwidth.The sNIC associated with the flow table entry being sampled isconsidered as a starving sNIC and added to starving sNIC list 72 at 254.

In various embodiments, operations 240 may be performed in a singlesweep (e.g., execution, run, etc.) of periodic sampler 66. In otherembodiments, operations 240 may be performed piecemeal, for example,within a predetermined time interval, or until starving sNIC list 72reaches a particular size. Various other options that determine afrequency of execution of periodic sampler 66 may be used within thebroad scope of the embodiments.

In some embodiments, low frequency periodic sampler 66 detects duringits execution that some of sNICs 24 are being throttled and monitors thecondition of sNICs 24 that have minimum bandwidth requirement. If allsNICs 24 are able to perform I/O operations at guaranteed bandwidth,periodic sampler 66 unblocks sNICs 24 from throttled sNIC list 74 in thereverse order in which sNICs 24 were initially added to throttled sNIClist 74. In some embodiments, in every invocation of low frequencyperiodic sampler 66, a predetermined subset of throttled sNICs 24 areunblocked, for example, to avoid overload on the system. Whileunblocking, periodic sampler 66 monitors the situation and stops theunblock operation if at least one starved sNIC 24 is detected.

Turning to FIG. 16, FIG. 16 is a simplified flow diagram illustratingexample operations 260 of throttler 68 that may be associated withembodiments of communication system 10. High frequency throttler 68 isinvoked at 262. In some embodiments, throttler 68 is evoked on demand.In other embodiments, throttler 68 is evoked at predetermined timeintervals. In some embodiments, throttler 68 is scheduled to execute atleast once in a predetermined time interval (e.g., every 100 ms) afterbeing invoked until violations of policy context 20 are resolvedsatisfactorily. At 264, throttler 68 reviews sNIC list 70.

For each sNIC on sNIC list 70, throttler 68 performs the followingoperations. At 266, throttler 68 makes a determination whether the sNIChas any specific policy context 20 associated therewith. If the sNIC hasa specific policy context 20 associated therewith, at 268, throttler 68checks the value of priority field 104 in policy context 20. At 270,throttler 68 makes a determination whether the value of priority field104 is “low”. If the value of priority field 104 is not “low” (e.g., lowpriority sNICs are selected before “normal” priority sNICs), at 272,throttler 68 checks the value of policy type field 106 in policy context20. At 274, throttler 68 makes a determination whether the value ofpolicy type field 106 indicates a Max IOPS (e.g., 0x01) or Max Bandwidthutilization (e.g., 0x02) policy. If not, at 276, throttler 68 checks anybandwidth requirement in policy context 20. At 278, throttler 68 makes adetermination whether the bandwidth requirement is low (e.g., relativelylower than other sNICs) and the sNIC is not experiencing any violationof its per sNIC policy context 48. If not, the operations revert to 264,and the next sNIC in sNIC list 70 is reviewed. If bandwidth requirementis low, at 280, the sNIC is added to throttled sNIC list 74.

Turning back to 266, if no policy context 20 is associated with thesNIC, the sNIC is added to throttled sNIC list 74. Turning back to 270,if the value of priority field 104 is “low”, the sNIC is added tothrottled sNIC list 74. Turning back to 274, if the value of policy typefield 106 indicates a Max IOPS (e.g., 0x01) or Max Bandwidth utilization(e.g., 0x02) policy, the sNIC is added to throttled sNIC list 74.

At 282, the context state of sNICs in throttled sNIC list 74 is set toPAUSED. Setting the context state to PAUSED throttles any I/O operationassociated with the sNIC. At 284, throttler 68 waits for a predeterminedtime interval (e.g., 100 ms). At 286, throttler 68 checks the state ofstarving sNIC list 72. At 290, throttler 68 makes a determinationwhether a size of starving sNIC list 72 has decreased (e.g., indicatingfewer number of starving sNICs) and the situation has improved. Ifstarving sNIC list 72 has not decreased in size, the operations revertto 264, and additional sNICs are selected to be throttled. If thesituation has improved (e.g., previously starved sNICs are able toperform I/O operations at desired bandwidth utilization) throttler 68 isterminated at 292. In some embodiments, before terminating, throttler 68also updates QoS monitor 64 to indicate completion of the throttlingtask.

Note that in this Specification, references to various features (e.g.,elements, structures, modules, components, steps, operations,characteristics, etc.) included in “one embodiment”, “exampleembodiment”, “an embodiment”, “another embodiment”, “some embodiments”,“various embodiments”, “other embodiments”, “alternative embodiment”,and the like are intended to mean that any such features are included inone or more embodiments of the present disclosure, but may or may notnecessarily be combined in the same embodiments. Furthermore, the words“optimize,” “optimization,” and related terms are terms of art thatrefer to improvements in speed and/or efficiency of a specified outcomeand do not purport to indicate that a process for achieving thespecified outcome has achieved, or is capable of achieving, an “optimal”or perfectly speedy/perfectly efficient state.

In example implementations, at least some portions of the activitiesoutlined herein may be implemented in software. In some embodiments, oneor more of these features may be implemented in hardware, providedexternal to these elements, or consolidated in any appropriate manner toachieve the intended functionality. The various components may includesoftware (or reciprocating software) that can coordinate in order toachieve the operations as outlined herein. In still other embodiments,these elements may include any suitable algorithms, hardware, software,components, modules, interfaces, or objects that facilitate theoperations thereof.

Furthermore, the VNFs and associated servers described and shown herein(and/or their associated structures) may also include suitableinterfaces for receiving, transmitting, and/or otherwise communicatingdata or information in a network environment. The VNFs described hereinmay be provisioned on servers comprising memory elements and processors.Additionally, some of the processors and memory elements associated withthe various nodes may be removed, or otherwise consolidated such that asingle processor and a single memory element are responsible for certainactivities. In a general sense, the arrangements depicted in the FIGURESmay be more logical in their representations, whereas a physicalarchitecture may include various permutations, combinations, and/orhybrids of these elements. It is imperative to note that countlesspossible design configurations can be used to achieve the operationalobjectives outlined here. Accordingly, the associated infrastructure hasa myriad of substitute arrangements, design choices, devicepossibilities, hardware configurations, software implementations,equipment options, etc.

In some of example embodiments, one or more memory elements (e.g.,storage resource 18, packet classifier 34, flow table 38) can store dataused for the operations described herein. This includes the memoryelement being able to store instructions (e.g., software, logic, code,etc.) in non-transitory media, such that the instructions are executedto carry out the activities described in this Specification. A processor(e.g., control processor 50, packet processor 42, data path processor54) can execute any type of instructions associated with the data toachieve the operations detailed herein in this Specification. In oneexample, processors could transform an element or an article (e.g.,data) from one state or thing to another state or thing. In anotherexample, the activities outlined herein may be implemented with fixedlogic or programmable logic (e.g., software/computer instructionsexecuted by a processor) and the elements identified herein could besome type of a programmable processor, programmable digital logic (e.g.,a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read onlymemory (EEPROM)), an ASIC that includes digital logic, software, code,electronic instructions, flash memory, optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs,magnetic or optical cards, other types of machine-readable mediumssuitable for storing electronic instructions, or any suitablecombination thereof.

These devices may further keep information in any suitable type ofnon-transitory storage medium (e.g., random access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), field programmable gate array (FPGA), erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable ROM (EEPROM), etc.), software, hardware, or in any othersuitable component, device, element, or object where appropriate andbased on particular needs. The information being tracked, sent,received, or stored in the communication system could be provided in anydatabase, register, table, cache, queue, control list, or storagestructure, based on particular needs and implementations, all of whichcould be referenced in any suitable timeframe. Any of the memory itemsdiscussed herein should be construed as being encompassed within thebroad term ‘memory element.’ Similarly, any of the potential processingelements, modules, and machines described in this Specification shouldbe construed as being encompassed within the broad term ‘processor.’

In various embodiments, the operations described herein facilitateimprovements in storage traffic optimization technologies, allowingcompute nodes 14 to operate faster, or more efficiently according toadministrator specified policies at a central management application inthe network. The operations described herein solve problems uniquelyassociated with a multi-host computing environment, in which multiplecompute nodes 14 access shared storage resource 18 through a sharedtransmission medium (e.g., PCIe bus). Such problems did not exist beforecomputers or computer networks, or before multiple computing deviceswere aggregated together for shared efficiencies.

It is also important to note that the operations and steps describedwith reference to the preceding FIGURES illustrate only some of thepossible scenarios that may be executed by, or within, the system. Someof these operations may be deleted or removed where appropriate, orthese steps may be modified or changed considerably without departingfrom the scope of the discussed concepts. In addition, the timing ofthese operations may be altered considerably and still achieve theresults taught in this disclosure. The preceding operational flows havebeen offered for purposes of example and discussion. Substantialflexibility is provided by the system in that any suitable arrangements,chronologies, configurations, and timing mechanisms may be providedwithout departing from the teachings of the discussed concepts.

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail withreference to particular arrangements and configurations, these exampleconfigurations and arrangements may be changed significantly withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. For example,although the present disclosure has been described with reference toparticular communication exchanges involving certain network access andprotocols, the communication system may be applicable to other exchangesor routing protocols. Moreover, although the communication system hasbeen illustrated with reference to particular elements and operationsthat facilitate the communication process, these elements, andoperations may be replaced by any suitable architecture or process thatachieves the intended functionality of the communication system.

Numerous other changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, andmodifications may be ascertained to one skilled in the art and it isintended that the present disclosure encompass all such changes,substitutions, variations, alterations, and modifications as fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims. In order to assist the UnitedStates Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and, additionally, anyreaders of any patent issued on this application in interpreting theclaims appended hereto, Applicant wishes to note that the Applicant: (a)does not intend any of the appended claims to invoke paragraph six (6)of 35 U.S.C. section 112 as it exists on the date of the filing hereofunless the words “means for” or “step for” are specifically used in theparticular claims; and (b) does not intend, by any statement in thespecification, to limit this disclosure in any way that is not otherwisereflected in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing policy contexts prescribingstorage access parameters of respective compute nodes within amicroserver chassis comprising a plurality of compute nodes, a sharedstorage resource, and an input/output (I/O) adapter, the methodcomprising: allocating tokens to command descriptors associated with I/Ooperations for accessing the shared storage resource; identifying aviolation of any policy context of any of the compute nodes based onavailability of the tokens, comprising: sampling flow table entries inthe I/O adapter; determining from the sampling whether any SmallComputer System Interface network interface card (sNICs) associated withrespective compute nodes are marked as starved; and identifying as aviolation any sNIC marked as starved for unavailability of the token. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising programming a packetclassifier in the I/O adapter to filter storage traffic local to themicroserver chassis.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingpopulating a flow table in the I/O adapter with actions according to theany policy context.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the throttling I/Ocomprises executing a frequency throttler comprising a thread ofinstructions.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the throttlingidentifies sNICs associated with respective compute nodes that arethrottleable based on respective policy contexts associated with theircorresponding compute nodes.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thethrottling adds the identified sNICs to a list of throttled sNICs. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein the throttling changes a context state incorresponding policy contexts associated with the identified sNICs toindicate that I/O operations are paused, wherein no tokens are awardedto paused sNICs.
 8. A non-transitory tangible computer readable mediathat includes instructions for execution, which when executed by aprocessor, performs operations comprising: allocating tokens to commanddescriptors associated with I/O operations for accessing a sharedstorage resource; identifying a violation of any policy context of anycompute nodes in a microserver chassis based on availability of thetokens, comprising: sampling flow table entries in the I/O adapter;determining from the sampling whether any Small Computer SystemInterface network interface card (sNICs) associated with respectivecompute nodes are marked as starved; and identifying as a violation anysNIC marked as starved for unavailability of the token.
 9. The media ofclaim 8, the operations further comprising programming a packetclassifier in an I/O adapter of the microserver chassis to filterstorage traffic local to the microserver chassis.
 10. The media of claim8, the operations further comprising populating a flow table in an I/Oadapter of the microserver chassis with actions according to the anypolicy context.
 11. The media of claim 8, wherein the throttling I/Ocomprises executing a frequency throttler comprising a thread ofinstructions.
 12. The media of claim 11, wherein the throttlingidentifies sNICs associated with respective compute nodes that arethrottleable based on respective policy contexts associated with theircorresponding compute nodes.
 13. The media of claim 12, wherein thethrottling adds the identified sNICs to a list of throttled sNICs. 14.The media of claim 13, wherein the throttling changes a context state incorresponding policy contexts associated with the identified sNICs toindicate that I/O operations are paused, wherein no tokens are awardedto paused sNICs.
 15. An apparatus including a microserver chassisincluding a plurality of compute nodes; a shared storage resource; anI/O adapter facilitating access by the compute nodes to the sharedstorage resource over a shared transmission medium; and at least oneprocessor, wherein the processor executes instructions, the apparatusbeing programmed to perform operations comprising: allocating tokens tocommand descriptors associated with I/O operations for accessing theshared storage resource; identifying a violation of any policy contextof any of the compute nodes based on availability of the tokens,comprising: sampling flow table entries in the I/O adapter; determiningfrom the sampling whether any Small Computer System Interface networkinterface card (sNICs) associated with respective compute nodes aremarked as starved; and identifying as a violation any sNIC marked asstarved for unavailability of the token.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15,the operations further comprising programming a packet classifier in theI/O adapter to filter storage traffic local to the microserver chassis.17. The apparatus of claim 15, the operations further comprisingpopulating a flow table in the I/O adapter with actions according to theany policy context.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein thethrottling I/O comprises executing a frequency throttler comprising athread of instructions.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein thethrottling identifies sNICs associated with respective compute nodesthat are throttleable based on respective policy contexts associatedwith their corresponding compute nodes.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19,wherein the throttling adds the identified sNICs to a list of throttledsNICs.